Goals from Casemeiro in the 24th minute and Isco in the 52nd minute put the Spanish side in control of the game, but United pulled one back through new signing Lukaku.

It wasn’t, however, enough to overturn the deficit and give manager Jose Mourinho his first Super Cup trophy.

With the victory, Real Madrid who made history earlier this year by becoming the first team to win the Champions League back-to-back, have retained the Super Cup title that they claimed by beating Sevilla on August 9 last year.

Ronaldo was allowed to report for pre-season training later than his team mates after playing in the Confederations Cup with Portugal.

The 32-year-old also missed the Liga team’s tour of the United States but instead went on a promotional tour of Asia and returned to full training for the first time on Saturday.

Reacting to reports that the player might leave Real, Zidane said: “It depends on how he plays, it depends on what he’s done; the feeling between the coach and the player, and that’s it.”

“If the player is good to be with us, he’ll be with us, nothing else. And that’s always a decision I make as a coach, speaking to the player, of course. He, like I said earlier, physically, is in very good shape, and that’s what matters to the type of coach I am, and to the players, and to all Madrid.”

Ronaldo has not played for Real since the 4-1 win over Juventus in the Champions League final in Cardiff, after which reports emerged from Portugal that he wanted to leave the club after being accused of tax evasion by the Spanish authorities.

The Real forward, who denied any wrongdoing in a statement released by his agency Gestifute in July, has made no public statement following the original report in Portuguese newspaper Record, although Spanish media said he has decided to stay at Real.

]]>Arsenal Beat Chelsea To Win Community Shieldhttp://nigeriancurrent.com/2017/08/07/arsenal-beat-chelsea-to-win-community-shield/
Mon, 07 Aug 2017 08:24:12 +0000http://nigeriancurrent.com/?p=17585Olivier Giroud scored the decisive spot kick as Arsenal beat Chelsea in a penalty shootout to win the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday.

The Premier League and FA Cup winners were locked at 1-1 after an evenly contested 90 minutes.

Giroud stroked home after Alvaro Morata and Thibaut Courtois missed for Chelsea in a shootout.

Chelsea’s Victor Moses had opened the scoring when he reacted fastest to smash a loose ball past Petr Cech in the 46th minute.

After a while, Arsenal substitute Sead Kalasinac equalised in the 82nd minute, heading home to cap an impressive performance.

Chelsea’s Pedro was dismissed for a foul on Mohamed Elneny which led to Arsenal’s equaliser while Arsene Wenger’s side also handed a debut to record signing Alexandre Lacazette.

Chelsea begin their Premier League title defence when they host Burnley on Saturday, while Arsenal entertain Leicester City on Friday.

]]>CHAN Qualifier : New Eagles Captain Optimistic Of Good Outing‎http://nigeriancurrent.com/2017/07/28/chan-qualifier-new-eagles-captain-optimistic-of-good-outing%e2%80%8e/
Fri, 28 Jul 2017 05:48:06 +0000http://nigeriancurrent.com/?p=17442New home-based Super Eagles captain, Ikechukwu Ezenwa on Thursday said the team has good chances of qualifying for the 2018 CHAN tournament in Kenya.‎

Ezenwa disclosed this during an interview with the News Agency Nigeria(NAN) in Kano .

‎He said though some of the players were new, they would blend and get good results against Benin.‎

“I am delighted with the training so far because all the boys are in high spirit and I will try and encourage my team mates to work hard to progress,” he said.

The captain said the players were determined to qualify for CHAN 2018 and do the nation proud.

“We understand the expectations of Nigerians from us are high, we will do our best,” he said.

‎Eagles Coach, Salisu Yusuf , ‎said he was optimistic the Eagles would do well in their matches against Benin.

He said the players in the camp were being encouraged by the technical staff to blend and do the country proud. ‎

Yusuf said that he was working on all departments of the team particularly focusing on building a solid defence line.

‎” We are currently working on all departments of the team but we are focusing on how to fortify the back line ‎for it to be more solid,” he said.

]]>Man Utd win over Man City is a result of good training session- Mourinhohttp://nigeriancurrent.com/2017/07/22/man-utd-win-over-man-city-is-a-result-of-good-training-session-mourinho/
Sat, 22 Jul 2017 09:38:31 +0000http://nigeriancurrent.com/?p=17367Manchester United’s pre-season win over Manchester City in Houston was “a very good training session”, says United manager Jose Mourinho.

Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford scored as 67,401 at NRG Stadium watched United win 2-0 in the first Manchester derby outside England.

“I’m sure Pep [Guardiola] is the same. The most important thing was to give the players high quality training.”

City came close to reducing the deficit when Fernandinho’s long-range shot was tipped over by Sergio Romero. And City boss Guardiola was delighted with the performance of 17-year-old midfielder Phil Foden, who was making his first-team debut.

“I don’t have words to describe what I saw,” Guardiola said. “His performance was at another level. He loves the club. He is a City fan. He is a gift.

“Maybe this season he will stay with us because he is special. Creating chances, always in the best position.”

It was the first derby since the bombing at Manchester Arena on 22 May and both teams wore shirts with the distinctive ‘worker bee’ logo, which will be auctioned off to raise money for the victims.

]]>Andrew Robertson joins Liverpool from Hull City for £10mhttp://nigeriancurrent.com/2017/07/22/andrew-robertson-joins-liverpool-from-hull-city-for-10m/
Sat, 22 Jul 2017 09:34:15 +0000http://nigeriancurrent.com/?p=17364Liverpool have signed Hull’s Andrew Robertson in an initial £8m deal, with Kevin Stewart going the other way for what is thought to be a similar fee.

Scotland left-back Robertson, 23, joins on what the Reds describe as a “long-term contract” for a fee which could rise to £10m.

Robertson said: “It feels a bit surreal. There are not more special clubs than Liverpool.”

The defender joined Hull from Dundee United for £2.85m in 2014 and made 39 appearances last season as the Tigers were relegated from the Premier League.

He added: “When you grow up as a kid you dream of playing with big clubs such as Liverpool and to make that a reality is a dream come true for me.

“I just want to prove to people that I can do it at this level, and hopefully I manage to do that this season and do good things for this club.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp added: “For Andrew, this is another big step on what has been a quite incredible personal journey in a very short space of time.

“I know our environment will benefit him and help him push himself even more than he has already. This is a player who does not limit his ambition.”

United will receive about £600,000 from the deal – paid over the next two or three years – as a sell-on clause for a player they signed from amateur club Queen’s Park in 2013.

Robertson is Liverpool’s third summer signing following the arrival of Roma winger Mohamed Salah and Chelsea striker Dominic Solanke.

]]>Chelsea sign Real Madrid striker, Alvaro Morata for a club record £60mhttp://nigeriancurrent.com/2017/07/22/chelsea-sign-real-madrid-striker-alvaro-morata-for-a-club-record-60m/
Sat, 22 Jul 2017 09:29:52 +0000http://nigeriancurrent.com/?p=17360Chelsea have completed the club record £60m signing of striker Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid on a five-year deal.

The Spain international, 24, scored 20 goals last season after rejoining Real from Italian champions Juventus.

Morata won La Liga and the Champions League, but the majority of his appearances were as a substitute.

Premier League champions Chelsea have also signed goalkeeper Willy Caballero, defender Antonio Rudiger and midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko this summer.

Morata will now join up with the Blues squad on their pre-season tour of Asia.

Chelsea’s previous transfer record was the £50m they paid Liverpool for Fernando Torres in January 2011.

“Alvaro has proven class at the highest level and his quality will be a huge asset,” said Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo.

The Spain international must now agree personal terms and pass a medical to complete the transfer.

The 24-year-old would be the Premier League champions’ fourth signing of the summer, after goalkeeper Willy Caballero, defender Antonio Rudiger and midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko.

Morata scored 20 goals last season after rejoining Real from Juventus.

He won La Liga and the Champions League, but the majority of his appearances were as a substitute.

Morata could replace Spain team-mate Diego Costa, who says he has been told by manager Antonio Conte that he is no longer in Chelsea’s plans.

Manchester United had been interested in Morata prior to signing Everton striker Romelu Lukaku for an initial £75m.

“I’m going to the team managed by the coach who has placed the most faith in me, and that’s great for me,” Morata told AS on Wednesday.

Morata joined Real Madrid’s youth team in 2008 and was handed his senior debut aged 18 in 2010.

The 6ft 3in striker moved to Italy in 2014, scoring 27 goals in two years for Juventus, winning both Serie A and the Coppa Italia twice and playing in the 2015 Champions League final.

Real exercised a buy-back option in June 2016 to take him back to the Bernabeu.

Morata has won 20 caps for Spain, scoring nine goals, since his international debut in 2014.

]]>England goalkeeper Joe Hart to have a medical on Monday in West-Hamhttp://nigeriancurrent.com/2017/07/17/england-goalkeeper-joe-hart-to-have-a-medical-on-monday-in-west-ham/
Mon, 17 Jul 2017 08:18:15 +0000http://nigeriancurrent.com/?p=17298England goalkeeper Joe Hart will have a medical on Monday before completing a season-long loan deal with West Ham.

Hart has been told he can find another club by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola after spending last season at Torino.

It is anticipated City will fund part of Hart’s wages and the agreement will include an option for West Ham to buy the 30-year-old.